Halloween: 7 Haunting Facts You Didn’t Know

Halloween is a time for people to dress up in ridiculous costumes, eat ridiculous amounts of candy, and – for all those over 21 – drink a ridiculous number of themed cocktails. Though many of us love partaking in these annual activities, the history behind their creation is not so well-known. Below are seven strange and spooky facts about Halloween that might surprise you. Who knows, some of them might even scare you!

Number Seven: 95% of Households Hand Out Sugary Candy to Children

In a survey conducted by Yahoo, nearly 100% of respondents said they plan to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters this year. Most people also said they will not be paying attention to calorie count, and only 16% of people said they intend to hand out a “healthy” option or alternative.

Number Six: Halloween Legitimately Makes Kids Act More “Evil”

Due to the fact that kids dress in costume and are wandering the streets in search of sugary treats that won’t do anything to legitimately boost their mood, a process called deindividuation often occurs in these children’s minds. This psychological phenomenon occurs when people are placed in a group in search of one specific object of desire – candy, in this case. Particularly competitive kids who confuse their identities with their costumes may be especially prone to act out in ways they never would on any other day.

Number Five: The Prototype ‘Devil’ Costume Stems From Mockery

When Halloween first began, many Christians still believed in the devil. To combat his evil advances on All Hallows’ Eve, they dressed up as a bastardized version of him to mock him – this is where the red horns and the silly tail come in. Interestingly, the costume stuck and is still used as a standard depiction of a demon today.

Number Four: A Truly Authentic Ghost Would Be Covered in Feces

It’s no secret that when people die, they involuntarily defecate if they have anything in their bowels. Because of this, a true ghost, having no access to cleaning supplies, would still remain covered in feces. Think about that the next time you go to hug your friend in a ghost costume.

Number Three: Parents Are the Real Candy Poisoners

Though fewer and fewer cases of candy poisoning are being reported every year, the fact nobody is talking about is that the culprit behind your kid’s poison candy is almost always another parent. Take 5-year-old Kevin Toston, for instance, who died after his parents tried to cover up his uncle’s heroin addiction by sprinkling some on Kevin’s candy. Most candy poisoning happens after the candy is brought back home.

Number Two: The People Attending Haunted Houses Are More Dangerous Than What’s Inside

Many people don’t know themselves until they’re convinced they’re about to die. Considering this is exactly the scenario customers experience in a haunted house, it’s no surprise that people have had some strange reactions to the “monsters” inside. People have been known to kick, bite and punch haunted house employees. One man even admitted in an interview that he trained an employee that scared a customer so much the customer chased after her and punched her in the face. Even when people pay to be scared, they don’t always end up wanting it.

Number One: The Halloween Candy Industry Is Responsible for Time Change

Many people will recall that the end of daylight savings time was moved from the last week of October to the first week in November in 2007. While it was marketed as a way to conserve energy, this was actually a ploy by the Halloween candy industry to boost sales. See, even though moving daylight savings times has never been proven to actually conserve energy, it leaves an extra hour or so of daylight for kids to go trick-or-treating. That translates into billions of dollars for the Halloween candy industry.

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